Improved steering apparatus for steam-vessels



le vUNITi-ln STAT-ns PATENT @nmol-i. l

ff'fsA'MU'nL F. coviNeroN, or Nnw ALBANY, INDIANA.

, i WIPRovEo STEERING APPARATUS FOR sTEAM-vEssELs,

l `Specification forming pax-tof Letters Patent No. 42,642, dated May 10, `1864.

To all whom git' may concern.-

lBe it known thatl, SAMUEL F. COVING- TON, of N ew Albany, in the county of Floyd and Stateof Indiana, have invented a new and usefullmprovement in Steering Apparatus for Steamboats and Ido hereby declare the following to be a clear, full, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and letters of refer- "lhe wheel or propeller is similar to the ordinary paddle-wheel, but it is placed at the stern of the vessel, and is ordinarily operated by two engines, the wheel-shaft carrying a crank at either end, through which motion is imparted bythe engines. Vessels of this description are quite manageable, and are easily controlled by the ordinary helm when under way in calm weather and in an open river; but their construction is such that under adverse circumstances the ordinary means of directing or controlling the vessel are insutcient and, in some cases, utterly useless. Thus when it is desirable to put out from a landing when the Windis blowing with considerable force against the outer broadside, hours are often consumed in attempts to work the vessel away from the shore, and not unfrequently the boat is detained for one or more days until the wind subsides or changes its direction. Again, it is often, with only the ordinary means, difficult or impossible, when navigating narrow streams, or when in a narrow channel, to bring the vessel round for the purpose of making a landing. Great inconvenience is thus experienced but the inadequacy of the ordinary facilities for controlling or handling this class of vessels is most manifest when they are running downstream in shoal water, when the bow of the boat grounds. In such cases it frequently occurs that the safety of the boat and cargo depends upon her being held in the right direction, whereas the force of the current-often very swift-tends to swing the stern around in one direction or the other, at the im mineut risk of striking broadside against rocks or other obstructions and wrecking the vessel, and if she escapes without damage she is liable to be hopelessly .grounded by the occurrence.

My invention consists in an auxiliary steerf' and my apparatus is constructed as follows: l

Submerged in the recess or space between the paddle-wheel and stern ot' the boat I place a horizontal shaft carrying one or more screwpropellers of any appropriate construction and size. The diameter of these propellers, I suggest, should be about two feet, though the dimensions may be varied for convenience. This shaft may extend from side to side of the vessel and be supported by the stern-posts or timbers may be depended from the framework of the deck, supporting a shaft of less length. In the center, or at any convenient point on the propeller-shaft, is secured a bevelwheel, to which is adapted a bevel gear-wheel on a vertical shaft from above. Motion is imparted to this shaft, either direct or through an intermediate shaft or band, by a small steam-engine placed in a convenient position with reference thereto; or the engine may be connected by a crank direct to the vertical shaft.

by any familia-r and convenient method of un- It is probable that a movable coupling. clutch orv coupling, employed on the vertical or an intermediate shaft, will be found most convenient. It may, however, be remarked that the water in the recess or space occupied by the propeller is mostly carried along by the vessel. In other words, the propeller rests in an eddy formed by the passage of the boat through the water; hence the retardation would be quite insignificant, even if the propellers were held from rotating.

I will now proceed to describe the accompanying drawings, in which one illustration of my invention is presented.

The engine should be readily revers-Tv, 'i iblc, so that the propeller-shaft may rotate in Figure 1 is an elevation showing the position of the propeller at the after part of the Vessels hull. Fig. 2 is a sectional outline of same.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in the two figures.

A represents the after portion of a vessels hull; B, the propeller, the shaft of which extends from side to side of the vessel, and is supported by the stern or corner posts of the hull.

a. represents the wings or blades of the propeller, two sets of thembeing shown. The number, size, and form of them will be suggested by the size and construction of the vessel to which they are to be applied.

bis abevel gear-wheel carried by propellershaft, and c a similar wheel in gear with b, and carried by vertical shaft C.

D is a horizontal shaft carrying bevel-wheel d, ingear with bevel-wheel c on vertical shaft C.

Motion may be communicated to shaft D, and through the gearing above indicated to propeller B, by a small engine connected with or operating a crank, as at f, on shaft D, or the en gine may be connected with a crank directly with vertical shaft C, thereby dispensing with the horizontal intermediate shaft.

It will be understood that my device is not designed to supply the place of an ordinary rudder operated by the helmsman, but is for use in cases of emergency when the rudder cannot be made effective in handling or controlling the vessel.

The operation of the propeller when in motion, as will be seen, is directly sidewise, and its rotation at a suitable velocity exerts a powerful force to swing the stern of the vessel in either direction, as required.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

. Au auxiliary steering apparatus for steamboats or vessels, consisting of one or more screws placed tranversely under the rake-aft of the boat, and constructed and operated in the manner described.

SAML. F. COVINGTON.

Witnesses:

W. Y. SINEX, A. GREG-G. 

